Tag: Edward Zwick

We have lost him! I repeat. We have lost him! Jack Reacher Never Go Back movie has forced one of the most badass protagonists to fade into vacuity. All that smug style and mannerism whilst fighting and figuring out crime has lost its shine in this garish sequel. Jack Reacher that Christopher McQuarrie had so beautifully carved in the first one has been completely obliterated. And you can’t just blame the movie’s direction for it. Somewhere the plot asks of you to hold it against the wall too.

Lee Child’s Jack Reacher

Even though we hadn’t aced the Reacher Lee Child had created by taking Tom Cruise in the vanguard, he still looked fine in the first one. Primarily because Tom Cruise had created a different grim persona altogether that held him apart from his other roles. He let Reacher stories bank on his dour comportment and McQuarrie made sure of that with his subtlety. He wanted people to fall in love with him all over again.

Edward Zwick, au contraire, let go of that ingenuity. His frames miss out on the subtlety. The story chosen doesn’t give you the adrenaline rush either. It ends up becoming just any other movie, and not what Jack Reacher truly deserves.

Jack Reacher Never Go Back Movie has taken the heroics of the super human Reacher to new lows. We don’t see his intelligence unspool much here, which kind of beats the movie’s purpose in the first place. Jack Reacher has to be complete badass. Period.

Plot of Jack Reacher Never Go Back Movie (Spoilers)

A huge conspiracy is at play. It has swallowed up and is in the process of subjugating Major Susan Turner, played by Cobie Smulders. Jack believing her, since they used to talk on phone on numerous occasions in the past, ends up trying to save the wrongfully accused Turner. Jack is being pinned on a murder of Turner’s attorney as well with whom he was seen a couple of times before. With the intent to get Turner out, Reacher reaches in and sweeps her away to figure out who is trying to play her.

Unfortunately things are strangely contrived in Jack Reacher Never Go Back Movie, giving you an impression that every set up has been placed in order to create individual scenes. That being said, it lacks a natural flair of frames that is supposed to continuously hunt for awesomeness. We don’t see much of that going on here.

Another one of the greatest bummers this movie packs in is via its subplot. A stale tale of a daughter angle! There is literally a non-existent chemistry of father daughter relationship present in the movie. It wasn’t shown or acted properly. What would really make one shake their head is the climax scene, which you see coming BTW. You know you are supposed to feel for both the characters Samantha (Danika Yarosh) and Reacher, but you just can’t. Because in the entire movie there wasn’t anything solid given to you to chew on. How could one feel for its absent drama?

Screenplay

Looking at the screenplay of Jack Reacher Never Go Back, there isn’t much in that department either. One of the coolest lines in the flick, however, gets delivered by The Hunter portrayed by Patrick Heusinger.

It’s people like us. We can never go back to the world.

That’s when you realize how odd Reacher is, and how he doesn’t fit in the normal world. Amongst other ones, most of them are laughable, the others are pretty cliched like when he is bowing The Hunter out with a final blow, he says:

Look at me! Look at me!

It lets you in on the burning wrath in him. But it gets over in a jiffy with his blow, and dies down just like the antagonist.

Bright Sides

To look at the shimmering horizon, the plot was well kept under the wraps. And everything keeps happening for a reason. It doesn’t break the order as some movies often do by jumping to different frames to vex people. It is a gradual unfurling that makes everything perceptible. When you look at the fight scenes, even though there is nothing memorable that you go home satisfied with, it still is very natural, and that’s where the flick manages to keep up.

There are some thrilling moments that are squeezed in as well. Like Jack’s disappearing act followed by him bashing a car window to warn those who follow him. Also, the unfazed jump at The Hunter in the end where they both fall off a roof. It goes on to show the colossal import of the concept of saving lives, and sacrificing himself for others without worrying about his well being or safety.

You can pre-order Jack Reacher: Never Go Back here

The Final Verdict

When you don’t go with high expectations to watch Jack Reacher 2, you will be surprised that it’s fairly enjoyable. But when you do, that’s when you begin to see its shoddiness, and how there isn’t even a pinch of subtlety in it. The movie doesn’t do anything to beckon ogles. It ends up becoming too mediocre for a character like that of Reacher’s.

Jack Reacher Never Go Back is Lee Child’s 18th book in the Jack Reacher series.

Edward Zwick is probably one of the most underrated directors. Critics mostly shrug his work with a meh. But to me he makes a home run with every release. His direction is of the finest kinds, extremely riveting, never lets you lose focus. He always comes with a story that has a galloping continuity, which is always heading towards something, which he always moulds into a beauty. You can hardly make out individual frames, as is the case generally with movies by other mediocre directors, as he gorgeously blends into every other shot like a pro.

The story of the chess prodigy, Bobby Fischer delves into the head of a man who is dealing with paranoia. We are also introduced to his chess obsession, his genius brain, his Spassky rivalry, with the then existent cold war backdrop. It is a brilliantly shot biopic that focuses on several aspects of the game, of what it could do to people, and primarily tells us what it did to an already broken Bobby Fischer.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

The prologue commences at an instant where Bobby is missing from a tournament match, and the news channels all across the world are broadcasting their takes. It is a moment of national humiliation, of him going cold feet, whilst Bobby is shown being locked up in his room, wary of every slight movement, noise, and static he hears, and is wondering if there is a conspiracy going on against him. It is a great way to start a movie, and at once puts the question in the vanguard, “Why?”

As the frames reel on, we are introduced to a young quieter Bobby, with an exceptional concentration, with unmatched interest in chess, his first defeat, the tears that followed, the persisting endeavour of ‘again’ and the imminent burning will of success.

Tobey Mcguire gives wings to the character through his fluent acting. He breathes life into Bobby Fischer, and crawls his way into his psychosis. His ways are articulate and he speaks his heart out. He doesn’t care much about the people, but that’s how he was. Complementing Tobey marvelously are Peter Sarsgaard and Michael Stuhlbarg who are exceptional as Father Bill Lombardy and Paul Marshall.

The only thing that I found wrong with the movie was that his genial games weren’t highlighted much. This was probably done to make the uninterested interested. To those who are avid chess players it seems unfair. We wished to know how brilliant his moves were. How unpredictable he was in his style. How he nabbed every championship he ever set his eyes on. This goes unheard in the biopic and the tale goes unmoored into his disorder territory.

Despite all that the movie still uplifts Bobby Fischer and celebrates him as one of the greatest and prodigious chess players that ever lived. His game is really inspiring and watching his flair would give you the sudden urge to storm off to a board at once.

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About Me

A prolific writer, started out when I was a kid, on a leaflet in a diary. Pages turned impressive pretty quick. Found myself writing quite often ever since.
What started as a passion has become an obsession and boy I can't stop. Wish to take it up as a profession with the right support.
A poet at heart. My words often reek of dark dismay and gloom and scale the depths of sentience. I just hope my ink never runs out and that I keep resurrecting dead pages. Love.